Born in Cotacachi, Equador, on November 12, 1912. He entered the Franciscan order in September 1928, and was ordained a priest on July 4, 1937. In 1941, he obtained his B.A. in Philosophy from the Pontifical University Antonianum in Rome. He then returned to his native country, carrying out a vast number of pastoral initiatives. He founded the Communion of the Sick, the publishing company Jodoko Ricke and the magazine Paz y Bien. He has been Secretary of the Equadorian Institute for Studies of the Amazon Region, member of the International Academy of Franciscan History, Rector of the Brotherhood of Quito, Provincial Secretary and Minister of the Franciscan Order. Nominated Bishop of Ambato on October 23, 1949, and Archbishop of Guayaquil on April 10, 1969, (a post he retired from in 1989), he was made a cardinal by Pope John Paul II during the Consistory of November 26, 1994.